About the DRC

INVESTING IN RD CONGO

GENERAL INFORMATION ON CONGO R & D

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a huge country in the heart of Africa, straddling the equator. With an area of 2,345,410 square kilometers, DR Congo shares 9,165 km of borders with neighboring countries: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, southern Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

6 REASONS TO INVEST IN RD CONGO

1. The DRC, a land with multiple potentialities and investment opportunities;
2. Basic infrastructure in full rehabilitation and modernization throughout the country;
3. A thriving and promising economy;
4. Abundant, skilled and cheap labor;
5. An increasingly attractive and competitive business environment;
6. A vast market in the heart of Africa.

BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT CLIMATE CHARACTERISTICS IN DR. CONGO

• Prohibition of nationalization and expropriation;
• Freedom to transfer generated revenues;
• Establishment of a one-stop shop for business creation (creation time: 3 days);
• Establishment of special economic zones;
• Liberalization of the insurance, electricity and water sectors;
• Establishment of commercial courts and labor tribunals;
• Establishment of mechanisms for securing investments;
• Simplification of domestic parafiscality;
• Adoption of several bilateral conventions on reciprocal protection
• Promotion of investment between countries friendly to DR Congo;
• Other reforms are being adopted within the government.

ECONOMY

The DRC continues to show strong growth rates in the short and medium term, thanks in particular to the renewed dynamism of mining activities and the prospects for developing agricultural activity. Its annual growth which was estimated at 7.83% on average between 2010 and 2015, with a peak of 9.5% in 2014, rose in 2015 to 7.7%.

BANKS AND INSURANCE

To date, the Congolese financial system is composed of: 18 commercial banks, 1 savings bank, 3 specialized financial institutions, 3 electronic money institutions, 2 savings and credit cooperatives, 23 microfinance institutions, 55 Financial messaging and 15 exchange offices.
The banking rate and the key rate of the central bank are respectively 3% and 2%. The market remains open for new investors who express interest.
As regards insurance, the monopoly that has characterized this sector for several years has been put to an end by the liberalization of the sector, thus giving way to competition. This substantial reform ensures further investment in the DRC against possible disasters and improves risk management.

ENERGY

The electricity sector in the DRC is regulated by Law No. 14/011 of 17 June 2014. This legal framework establishes liberalism in this vital sector of the economy, favoring the entry of the private sector in order to increase The rate of national electrification estimated today at 9.6%.
The country has enormous assets for the development of the energy sector: (I) a hydroelectric potential of 100,000 MW (23% of the world’s potential and 37% of the African potential); (II) 52% of freshwater supplies in Africa and (III) various potentialities in renewable energies (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, etc.)

MINES

The mining sector strongly involves women in various activities, with 60% of women in mineral processing, about 30% in the digging and 10% in the provision of other services.

In mining areas, women are involved in several activities. In quarries, they are directly involved in the ore production chain but more in intermediate work: mineral washing, transport of mineral and commodity packages, sieving, sorting and grinding of stones.

The working environment of women in mines is deplorable and yet these women constitute a considerable workforce in the chain of artisanal exploitation of minerals. There are many women in the transport sector; Paving, washing; Crushing, and other related work. These women contribute to the economy of households but their work is forgotten.

The major challenges in the context of women in mines are:

– problem of the financial capacity to have a research permit
– difficult access to credit, no guarantee
– difficult access to justice
– presence of pregnant women and children in mines
– working conditions undermine the safety of women
– the mining sector presents opportunities for women;
– outsourcing
– opening of mineral purchase counters
– creation of mining cooperatives
– purchase of merchant card and digger card

We dare to believe that if there is any tone to give to women, they will be able to do great things to contribute to the improvement of the economic, social and political well-being of their community and Congolese society.

Diamant export statistics from January to September 2015

Gold operating statistics for January to September 2015

AGRICULTURE

Women constitute a majority category in the Congolese population.

According to statistics, more than 8 million women in Africa participate in the agricultural sector, of which women contribute more than 40% of the labor force.

Unfortunately, they still face some constraints:

• Access to land (difficult)
• Access to training and technical information to strengthen their expertise in their agricultural operations throughout the chain
• Access to quality inputs; Materials, seeds, processing tools etc …
• Access to finance
• Increased notorious illiteracy among women farmers, which reinforces their weak leadership.

AGRO-INDUSTRY

The country has enormous potential for the development of the agricultural sector: (I) 80 million hectares of arable land and 4 million hectares of irrigable land; (II) a fishery potential of 700,000 tons of fish per year; and (III) vast tracts of pasture to raise more than 40 million head of cattle. In its vision, the government intends to develop twenty-two agro-industrial parks including the one of BUKANGA LONZO already operational. A call is thus made to the private sector to develop their activities throughout the value chain of the BUKANGA LONZO agro-industrial park. The government is preparing to create a second agro-industrial park in LUOZI in Kongo-central.

Tourism

Tourism is one of the sectors that must contribute effectively to the inclusive growth of the DRC. The country has enormous potential for the development of this sector: (I) 12% of the territory erected in protected areas; (II) 7% national parks and 57 nature reserves; (III) 4 endemic species (Mountain Gorillas, Okapi, Bonobo and Congolese Peacock) and a variety of ecosystems covering nearly 145 million hectares of forest.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The country has enormous potential for the development of this sector: (I) a road network consisting of 145,000 km (only 3,000 km covered); (II) a railway network of 5,033 km to be totally rehabilitated; (III) a maritime, river and lake network of 16,238 km to be marked, dredged and exploited; (IV) 270 airport platforms to be rebuilt; (V) 2 international seaports to modernize as well as several inland ports to equip and dredge, routes of interconnections of economic poles. With particular reference to air transport, the DRC has 500 airstrips, 101 of which are open to public traffic, including 3 international traffic (Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Kisangani). In addition there are only 4 major cargo companies in connection to and from Sharjah, Luxembourg, Addis Ababa and 13 international airlines serving the DR Congo, including Brussels Airlines, Turkish Airlines etc.

A new state-owned company has just been set up (Congo Airways) to serve domestic routes. Low cost carriers are welcome.
There are several opportunities for investors, including: (i) construction of the deep-water port in Banana; (ii) construction of railway lines (Banana-Matadi-Kinshasa-Ilebo); (III) the modernization of the inland ports of the SCPT; (IV) the modernization of the railways of the SNCC and the SCPT, etc.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from 2010 to 2014 (In millions of USD)